Your Appointment

What to bring with you to your appointment?

For all consultations:

  • Your Medicare Card

  • Any Health Fund details

  • Any pension or health care card details

  • A valid referral from your GP (valid for 12 months), or another specialist (valid for 3 months)

  • Completed Patient Registration Form

  • Any relevant imaging such as CT scans, ultrasound scans, PET scans

  • Any relevant blood tests or pathology results

  • A list of your current medications

  • A health summary from your GP is appreciated

  • If you have any results or correspondence from other medical specialists about the condition you are seeing Dr Shaw for, or about of significant medical conditions, please bring them along.

  • If you have difficulty hearing, understanding, or explaining yourself, please bring along a relative or close friend who can assist you. If you need a translator booked for you, please tell us when making your appointment.

  • A list of any questions you may have 

For Thyroid consultations for thyroid nodules, cancers or cysts:

  • Thyroid ultrasound imaging and reports

  • Blood test results for

    • Thyroid function tests

    • Calcium and corrected calcium levels

For consults for hyperparathyroidism:

  • Sestamibi nuclear medicine scans

  • Thyroid ultrasound imaging and reports

  • Blood test results for:

    • Parathyroid hormone

    • Calcium and corrected calcium levels

    • Albumin

    • Vitamin D levels

What to expect during your consultation

Dr Shaw will take time to get to know you, and to find out what is important to you in regards to the condition seeking specialist opinion on. He will take a thorough medical history for symptoms related to your condition and examine the relevant structures, followed by a review of your results.

An office ultrasound may be performed to look at the thyroid gland, parotid gland, or neck structures.

For thyroid conditions a flexible nasoendoscopy may be performed in rooms to examine vocal cord function. This is where after a spray of anaesthetic medication in the nose, a 2mm flexible videoscope is inserted via a nostril to inspect the oropharynx and vocal cords. It is usually painless and well tolerated, but we recommend not having hot drinks for 60mins afterwards. Flexible nasoendoscopy is also done for head and neck cancers to look for oral and oropharyngeal lesions.

Dr Shaw may recommend additional investigations, scans, or biopsies.  He will you in a clear and coherent manner your results and the treatment options. Please ask any questions you may have.

 Fees

Dr Douglas Shaw’s practice is a private specialist clinic. The fees are aligned with the Australian Medical Association recommended rates for procedures and operations, and set at the discretion of your treating clinician. 

We require full payment on the day of consultation. We accept cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard and Visa

After you have paid the full fee for your appointment we will lodge a claim on your behalf with Medicare Online (provided you have a valid referral for the appointment). Patients should ensure they have provided bank details to Medicare, so the rebate can be paid into their nominated account usually on the next business day.

Please contact our reception team if you wish to enquire about fees and any out-of-pocket costs.

Cancellation Policy

You will be sent a reminder of appointments via SMS. However, we ask that you take a clear note of your appointment date at the time of making the appointment. We ask that you give our Reception team adequate notice if you are unable to attend your appointment.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a referral to see Dr Douglas Shaw? +

Yes, to claim a Medicare rebate for the consultation and any procedures a referral is required. Please note GP referrals are valid for 12 months, and referrals from other specialists are valid for 3 months.

Does Dr Shaw Bulk Bill? +

Dr Douglas Shaw’s practice is a private specialist clinic. We offer reduced rates for pensioners, those on disability support, and at the discretion of Dr Shaw.</p>

Does Dr Shaw treat children? +

Dr Douglas Shaw does not routinely treat children, as he feels best treated by dedicated paediatric surgeons. He may do simple lumps and bumps in children older than 12 years. Please enquire with Reception is any questions.

Does Dr Douglas Shaw see patients that do not have private health insurance? +

He does see patients without private health insurance; however, he does not have a public hospital appointment. If a procedure or operation is recommended, he will discuss options of doing suitable small excisions in clinic, explore self-funded costs for operations in a Private Hospital, or facilitate expedient referral to a colleague in the public system.

Is there parking at Dr Shaw's consulting rooms?

Dr Douglas Shaw shares a physical consulting space with Northern Beaches Breast Clinic on the 1st floor of Building 1, Frenchs Forest Road East. This is located above PRP imaging. There is free parking under the building, please press the button for NBBC for entry.